GCC in crisis: UAE and Saudi Arabia agree new parnership ahead of summit
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir (R) with UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash (C) during an Arab League meeting in Cairo (AFP)
The UAE and Saudi Arabia have agreed to form a joint economic and political partnership, just hours ahead of a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
According to a UAE foreign ministry statement, the new Joint Cooperation Committee will see the two countries cooperating in "military, political, economic, trade and cultural fields" and will be jointly chaired by Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Deputy Prime Minister Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities.
The two countries are already close military allies, including in Yemen where a Saudi-led coalition is battling the Iranian-backed Houthis.
The move comes just ahead of a two-day summit of the GCC, which is riven by divisions after Saudi Arabia and its allies cut ties with Qatar earlier this year.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, together with Egypt, cut all ties with Qatar on 5 June, accusing the gas-rich emirate of supporting Islamist extremists and being too close to Shia Iran, Riyadh's arch-rival. Qatar denies the allegations.
Mediation efforts led by Kuwait have failed to resolve what is the worst crisis to hit the GCC in its 36-year history, casting serious doubts over the future of the six-state alliance.
Despite the tensions, Qatar's emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani is expected to the attend the summit.
GCC in crisis
On Monday, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar attended round-table talks ahead of the gathering, in their first such encounter since the diplomatic crisis erupted in June.
Oman Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Yussef bin Alawi sat between them at the meeting which the foreign ministers of the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait also attended.
After cutting off all ties with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and its allies imposed a land, sea and air blockade of the emirate and issued a list of 13 demands in order for it to be lifted.
In October, Bahrain called for Qatar's membership of the GCC to be suspended until it accepted the demands.
Experts warn that the crisis could lead to the demise of the once-powerful GCC.
"The justifications for the existence of the GCC bloc amidst the continued crisis are no longer present like before," said Sami al-Faraj, head of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies.
"As long as our enemy has changed from Iran to Qatar, the GCC will not continue."
The failure of the GCC members to solidify long-delayed plans for economic unity may also threaten its future.
The Gulf states have approved a customs union, a common market, a single currency and a single central bank, but most of these have yet to be implemented.
Speaking at Monday's meeting, Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah stressed the determination of member states to preserve the GCC.
"The GCC is a continuous project in which the will of member states meets to build a unified Gulf body," he said.
[contf]
[contfnew]
middle east eye
[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]
